Why did the Morning Midas cargo ship, carrying 3,000 new vehicles to Mexico, sink off Alaska weeks after catching fire?

A cargo ship transporting new vehicles to Mexico sank in the North Pacific Ocean weeks after its crew abandoned it, unable to put out a fire that had left the vessel stranded.

The Morning Midas sank Monday in international water off Alaska's Aleutian Islands chain, the ship's management company, London-based Zodiac Maritime, said in a statement.

"There is no visible pollution," said Petty Officer Cameron Snell, an Alaska-based US Coast Guard spokesperson. "Right now we also have vessels on scene to respond to any pollution."


Why did the cargo ship sink?
Fire damage compounded by bad weather and water seepage caused the carrier to sink in waters about 16,404 feet (5,000 metres) deep and about 415 miles (770 kilometres) from land, the official statement said.

The ship was loaded with about 3,000 new vehicles intended for a major Pacific port in Mexico. It was not immediately clear if any of the cars were removed before it sank, and Zodiac Maritime did not immediately respond to messages Tuesday.

A salvage crew arrived days after the fire disabled the vehicle.

Pollution concerns mount
Two salvage tugs containing pollution control equipment will remain on scene to monitor for any signs of pollution or debris, the company said. The crew members of those two ships were not injured when the Morning Midas sank.

Zodiac Maritime said it is also sending another specialised pollution response vessel to the location as an added precaution.

The Coast Guard said it received a distress alert June 3 about a fire aboard the Morning Midas, which then was roughly 300 miles (490 kilometres) southwest of Adak Island.

There were 22 crew members onboard the Morning Midas. All evacuated to a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby merchant marine vessel. There were no injuries.

Among the cars were about 70 fully electric and about 680 hybrid vehicles. A large plume of smoke was initially seen at the ship's stern coming from the deck loaded with electric vehicles, the Coast Guard and Zodiac Maritime said at the time.

Adak is about 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometres) west of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city.

The 600-foot (183-metre) Morning Midas was built in 2006 and sails under a Liberian flag. The car and truck carrier left Yantai, China, on May 26 en route to Mexico, according to the industry site marinetraffic.com.

A Dutch safety board in a recent report called for improving emergency response on North Sea shipping routes after a deadly 2023 fire aboard a freighter that was carrying 3,000 automobiles, including nearly 500 electric vehicles, from Germany to Singapore.

One person was killed and others injured in the fire, which burned out of control for a week. That ship was eventually towed to a Netherlands port for salvage.

(with AP inputs)